Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Verdi's "Il Trovatore" Acts As An Alibi In The Dark Movie "Stoker"

Opera Lovers: Not since Salome and Herod has there been such familial heat. Pictured above is Uncle Charlie watching out for his dear niece India in the deeply disturbing psycho-drama Stoker.

After a boy has gone missing, the local sheriff stops by the Stoker residence to question India who was the last one out with him. As she becomes more flustered trying to keep to her concocted alibi, her uncle steps in to clarify what time she arrived home. "It was 8:30 when you came home. Il Trovatore was playing on PBS," interjects her uncle. India takes it from there, "Yeah, when I came home my uncle was watching TV, so I watched it with him." The sheriff then stumbles with the title, "Il Tr..o..va..tore.....what is it, a horror movie?" And the uncle smugly replies, "No. It's an opera by Verdi. Would you like me to write it down?" Seeming

Under Investigation: PBS to the rescue

satisfied, the sheriff takes his exit. Watch the clip after the jump. [Note: At the point where the clip ends, the uncle ascends the staircase whistling "Stride la vampa" the aria of Azucena from Il Trovatore.] Also see a video of Dolora Zajick singing "Stride la vampa," and a bonus clip from the film of the incestuously erotic version of Piano Duet #1 by Philip Glass as seen in the movie, after the jump.

"India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) was not prepared to lose her father and best friend Richard

Meet the Stokers: Kidman, Wasikowska, Goode

(Dermot Mulroney) in a tragic auto accident. The solitude of her woodsy family estate, the peace of her tranquil town, and the unspoken somberness of her home life are suddenly upended by not only this mysterious accident, but by the sudden arrival of her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), whom she never knew existed. When Charlie moves in with her and her emotionally unstable mother Evie (Nicole Kidman), India thinks the void left by her father's death is finally being filled by his closest bloodline. Soon after his arrival, India comes to suspect that this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives. Yet instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless young woman becomes increasingly infatuated with him." [Source] Learn more about the movie here. Purchase the soundtrack by clicking here.